1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to memory devices and methods for manufacturing such memory devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonvolatile memory elements are used in systems in which persistent storage is required. For example, digital cameras use nonvolatile memory cards to store images and digital music players use nonvolatile memory to store audio data. Nonvolatile memory is also used to persistently store data in computer environments. Nonvolatile memory is often formed using electrically-erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) technology. This type of nonvolatile memory contains floating gate transistors that can be selectively programmed or erased by application of suitable voltages to their terminals.
As fabrication techniques improve, it is becoming possible to fabricate nonvolatile memory elements with increasingly smaller dimensions. However, as device dimensions shrink, scaling issues are posing challenges for traditional nonvolatile memory technology. This has led to the investigation of alternative nonvolatile memory technologies, including resistive switching nonvolatile memory.
Resistive switching nonvolatile memory is formed using memory elements that have two or more stable states with different resistances. Bistable memory has two stable states. A bistable memory element can be placed in a high resistance state or a low resistance state by application of suitable voltages or currents. Voltage pulses are typically used to switch the memory element from one resistance state to the other. Nondestructive read operations can be performed to ascertain the value of a data bit that is stored in a memory cell.
Resistive switching based on transition metal oxide switching elements formed of metal oxide films has been demonstrated. Although metal oxide films such as these exhibit bistability, the resistance of these films and the ratio of the high-to-low resistance states are often insufficient to be of use within a practical nonvolatile memory device. For instance, the resistance states of the metal oxide film should preferably be significant as compared to that of the system (e.g., the memory device and associated circuitry) so that any change in the resistance state change is perceptible. The variation of the difference in resistive states is related to the resistance of the resistive switching layer. Therefore, a low resistance metal oxide film may not form a reliable nonvolatile memory device. For example, in a nonvolatile memory that has conductive lines formed of a relatively high resistance metal such as tungsten, the resistance of the conductive lines may overwhelm the resistance of the metal oxide resistive switching element. Therefore, the state of the bistable metal oxide resistive switching element may be difficult or impossible to sense.
Similar issues can arise from integration of the resistive switching memory element/device with current steering elements, such as diodes and/or resistors. The resistance of the resistive switching memory element (at least in its high resistance state) is preferably significant compared to the resistance of the current steering elements, so that the unvarying resistance of the current steering element does not dominate the resistance of the switching memory element, and thus reduce the measurable difference between the “on” and “off” states of the formed memory device (e.g., logic states of the device). However, since the power that can be delivered to a circuit containing a series of resistive switching memory elements and current steering elements is typically limited in most conventional nonvolatile memory devices (e.g., CMOS driven devices), it is desirable to form each of the resistive switching memory elements and current steering elements in the circuit so that the voltage drop across each of these elements is small, and thus resistance of the series connected elements does not cause the current to decrease to an undesirable level due to the fixed applied voltage (e.g., about 2-5 volts).
As nonvolatile memory device sizes shrink, it is important to reduce the required currents and voltages that are necessary to reliably set, reset and/or determine the desired “on” and “off” states of the device to minimize resistive heating of the device and cross-talk between adjacent devices. Moreover, in cases where multiple formed memory devices are interconnected to each other and to other circuit elements it is desirable to minimize the device performance variation between one device to the next to assure that the performance of the formed circuit performs in a desirable manner.
Metallic silicide materials have become an attractive group of materials utilized as electrode materials in nonvolatile memory device fabrication. Generally, metallic silicide materials have many desirable properties, such as a high electrical conductivity, a work function for providing a low leakage barrier to metal oxides, and sustainability to exposures of high processing temperatures (>650° C.). Metallic silicide materials may be deposited by sputtering from a composite target, however, control of the stoichiometry of the metallic silicide is often difficult and unsuccessful. In examples of metal oxide films used in bipolar switching devices, the metal oxide must remain free of metallic ion impurities or else the degraded metal oxide becomes unreliable and the overall device will fail. The switching effect of the memory device generally occurs due to anionic defects, such as oxygen vacancies, within the metal oxide films. However, if a metallic silicide layer is in contact with an adjacent switching metal oxide film, a portion of the metal within the metallic silicide material will likely diffuse into the switching metal oxide film and greatly degrade the reliability of the switching effect.
Therefore, there is a need for an efficient and controllable process to form a stable metal oxide/silicide stack for a nonvolatile memory device.